PANAJI
Replying to the discussion on demands for grants to the panchayat department, Godinho said that he would create a special vigilance cell to keep an eye on these panchayat secretaries to see if they are acquiring assets that are beyond their known source of income.
"I agree to the opposition charge that in some cases it is a secretary that runs a panchayat. I will be very serious about this. If needed I will bring in a law. I am constantly inquiring into such cases. I heard that in
some panchayats the secretaries are selling tokens that determine how much one has to pay for permissions," Godinho said.
"Often elected members are told by the panchayat staff that it is they who are permanent and the elected members are only in place for a few years. Elected representatives should get their pride back," Godinho said.
"The secretary in a panchayat is a pivotal officer. If you don't put him in place, he will create problems for implementation of all the schemes and entire administration will collapse," Godinho said, adding that some secretaries have been successful in remaining in one panchayat for several years.
"Even a peon makes a sarpanch dance and a clerk asks a sarpanch ‘who are you to issue me orders?'" Godinho said. "I'm there to protect panchayat representatives as an MLA. I am going to do a deep study," Godinho said.
Godinho admitted that there was a shortage of around nine secretaries when there should've been a surplus in view of the fact that secretaries are often also posted to the BDO offices at the taluka headquarters for coordination.
Godinho also promised to build panchayat ghars in several panchayats.
